Sub-Orbital

[Braun von Wernher]

Why does Kerbal tell me that I have recovered a vessel after sub-orbital flight even though I have clearly been orbiting? I am new to this game and recently launched my first orbital rocket, which I sucessfully orbited around kerbin for 15 days, but upon reentry and retreival of the capsule, it said that the vessel was retreived after sub-orbital flight. What am I doing wrong?

[ARS]

Sub-orbital is when your flight trajectory does not create a circle around the planet

Orbital is when your flight trajectory create a circle around the planet

Judging from your report that it orbited kerbin for 15 days, I assume you mistaken the term sub-orbital with orbital. In KSP, orbit does not decay (unless with mod) so when you said "orbiting" yet for "15 days" it's clearly that your rocket is on sub-orbital trajectory instead of orbital

Another assumption is that your rocket does make an orbit, yet the lowest point of orbit is still inside kerbin atmosphere, allowing atmospheric drag to slow your rocket, causing orbital decay that changed your orbital trajectory into suborbital trajectory (If you want to orbit kerbin, make sure the lowest point of orbit is above 70k meter)

hope that helps

[Grounder]

Agreed.  You must be outside of the atmosphere (70km), this is considered a low orbit.

[Red Iron Crown]

Orbital means periapsis is outside the atmosphere. If you met that parameter and the game still called it suborbital then I'd say that's a glitch. 

[MiffedStarfish]

Did you de-orbit it yourself? It's not clear in the post. If not, then it's decay from atmospheric drag like everyone else said, if you did then it's probably a bug.

[Spricigo]

There's a science bonus for recovering a craft based on what flight situation it reached (atmospheric,  suborbital, orbital,  flyby around celestial body X,....) 

However you receive this bonus once for each situation.  Also a single flight will only provide the most valuable bonus available. 

So,  if you collected the bonus for orbital flight before the one for suborbital maybe the most valuable in this flight. 

 

[bewing]

Both your Ap and your Pe on your orbit must be above 70km. I'm betting your Pe was just below that number.